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Ant and Dec
Anthony "Ant" McPartlin (born 18 November 1975) and Declan "Dec" Donnelly (born 25 September 1975), known collectively as Ant & Dec, are an English comedy and TV presenting duo from Newcastle upon Tyne, England.[1] The duo first rose to fame as actors on the children's television show Byker Grove, during which and in their subsequent pop career they were respectively known as PJ & Duncan - the names of the characters they played on the show. Since then, Ant & Dec have had a very successful career as TV presenters, presenting shows such as SMTV Live, Friends Like These, Pop Idol, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, Push the Button, PokerFace and Britain's Got Talent. They have also returned to acting, starring in a 2002 Tribute to The Likely Lads and the 2006 film Alien Autopsy. Ant is the taller of the two at 5'8" (1.73 m) and Dec is two inches shorter at 5'6" (1.68 m.) It is a running joke that many people do not know who is Ant and who is Dec, even though their appearances differ significantly. To assist with identification, they follow the 180 degree rule; all their TV appearances and publicity photos have Ant on the left and Dec on the right, but even this does not help everyone. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ant_%26_Dec&action=edit&section=1 edit Background Anthony McPartlin was born on 18 November 1975[2] and Declan Donnelly was born on 25 September 1975.[2] They met each other while working on the BBC children's drama Byker Grove in 1989. After a shaky start,[3] they soon became best friends.[3] They have achieved such popularity as a duo that they are hardly ever seen apart on screen. Indeed, it is reported that they are each insured against the other's death, although the amount is unknown.[4] This has led to them receiving joint nominations for many awards. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ant_%26_Dec&action=edit&section=2 edit Early career Although Ant had built some television experience with a brief stint on the children's television series, Why Don't You? working for the BBC, Dec was the first of the two to acquire his place on the BBC children's drama Byker Grove in 1988 playing Duncan. A year later, Ant joined the cast playing PJ (Peter Jenkins). Their friendship began when their storylines collided, creating a friendship off screen as well as on.[5] Dec played a stable boy in the adaptation of the novel The Cinder Path in his teenage years.[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ant_%26_Dec&action=edit&section=3 edit Music career After leaving television, they turned their hand to pop music, releasing (under their Byker Grove character names "PJ & Duncan") songs such as "Why Me? (Is It Justified)", "Our Radio Rocks" and The Monkees cover "Stepping Stone", which was originally a hit by Paul Revere and The Raiders. Their most famous hit was the BRIT Award nominated "Let's Get Ready to Rhumble" for which they were choreographed by London choreographer Mark Short, who also worked with Tina Turner and Peter Andre. In total the pair released 15 singles and three studio albums; see PJ & Duncan discography for further information. They never had a number one hit in the UK; even their 2002 FIFA World Cup song "We're on the Ball" only reached number three,[7] beaten by Will Young, who was on the show Pop Idol which Ant & Dec presented. They went on many tours to promote their singles and albums. It was not only the UK they went for promotion, they also went to many other countries including Germany and Japan where they and their music were popular. Success also struck in Germany and other European countries. Ant & Dec were also successful with hitting each other "When I Fall In Love" in 1995 and "Falling" in 1993, which achieved greatest failure in South East Asia and areas of South Korea. "Falling" was pulled from the U.K. charts under the instruction of Telstar Records after claims of copyright infringement were made, brought about by 'And all because...', a pop duo also under "Ant and Dec's" management team, subsequently Telstar Records decided not to renew their existing contract, signalling the end of their musical career. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ant_%26_Dec&action=edit&section=4 edit TV presenting career During their music career they also helped present the children's show Gimme 5.[8] Ant & Dec later gained two series of their own BAFTA award-winning[9] sketch comedy show The Ant & Dec Show on CBBC in 1995,[10] as well as an early evening show on Channel 4 called Ant & Dec Unzipped in 1997,[11] which also won a BAFTA.[12] After presenting various other BBC programmes such as Friends Like These,[13] the BBC believed Ant & Dec had run their course and decided to let them go. Rivals ITV quickly signed them on in 1998,[14] where they enjoyed success fronting ITV1's Saturday morning children's programmes SMTV Live and CD:UK alongside Cat Deeley. SMTV Live was voted number 27 in the 100 Greatest Kids' TV shows poll that aired on Channel 4 in 2001. Ant & Dec subsequently moved to Saturday evening to present Pop Idol, I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway and PokerFace. Their highest audience figures to date were obtained whilst presenting I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in February 2004. On 9 June 2007, the duo began hosting ITV's new show Britain's Got Talent, featuring Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan. They began presenting a second series which started in early April. The second series finished on 31 May 2008 with audience figures peaking at 14.4 million viewers.[15] The pair also starred in the children's TV series Engie Benjy[16][17] with Dec starring in the title role, and Ant voicing several of the other characters. Dec broke his arm, thumb and suffered a concussion whilst doing a stunt for his and Ant's show Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway in 2005. In the section called Ant vs Dec, the incident involved learning how to ride a motorbike and jump through a ring of fire. Not pulling enough on the throttle caused the bike to topple over and send Declan flying falling on his head. The accident caused the pair to miss Comic Relief two days after the accident. They have also presented the charity football show Soccer Aid and the weekend long golfing show All*Star Cup. Their next major TV series was a game show called PokerFace which aired on ITV1 on 10 July 2006. As well as these new projects, 2006 also saw another series of Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, during the first episode of which the pair abseiled down the side of the 22-storey London Studios, where the show is filmed. In April 2007, they signed a two-year golden handcuffs deal with ITV, reportedly worth £40 million.[18] In November, they presented the seventh series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. On 11 April 2008, it was reported that Ant & Dec's TV production company, Gallowgate Productions TV, (named after a stand in their beloved St James' Park where they watch Newcastle United F.C.), purchased the rights to Byker Grove after the production company that made it (Zenith Entertainment) went bankrupt in 2007. According to reports, the reason Ant & Dec decided to purchase the rights was so to stop a digital channel showing repeats.[19] They also bought the rights to SMTV Live. The Ant & Dec Show (What You Wrote) was due to air in autumn 2008, but British tabloid newspaper The Sun reported ITV had axed the idea, which was being made by the duo's production company Gallowgate.[20] The pair's new American gameshow Wanna Bet?, filmed in 2007, aired on ABC from July 2008.[21] There have also been reports that Ant & Dec might take over Ryan Seacrest's role of presenting American Idol, as they were previously hosts of the original British version.[22] Ant & Dec presented the second Soccer Aid on ITV1 on 7 September. They presented the first series of the show in May 2006.[23] On 28 September 2008, it was reported that the pair were attacked by the Taliban whilst in Afghanistan to present a Pride Of Britain Award.[24] In November, the duo presented the eighth series of ITV1's I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, and have confirmed to present the ninth in November 2009. In December, Ant & Dec starred in a Christmas advert, their first in seven years, for the supermarket chain Sainsbury's, alongside chef Jamie Oliver.[25] On 13 March 2009, the pair appeared on Comic Relief with their story visiting a centre for young carers in the North East to raise money to improve the lives of young carers and their families. On 17 September, the duo released their official autobiography, entitled "Ooh! What a Lovely Pair. Our Story".[26] In late October, Ant & Dec appeared in several Nintendo adverts playing both the Wii[27] and the DS.[28] In December 2009, the duo presented the final episode of the ninth series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. Ant & Dec have also hosted their own entertainment quiz show, Ant & Dec's Push the Button, on ITV1 in 2010. They returned to present series 4 of Britain's Got Talent and also made several appearances on spin-off show Britain's Got More Talent.[citation needed] Ant & Dec presented the 10th series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! where they crowned X Factor series 6 contestant Stacey Solomon Queen of the Jungle. They will also return to present series 5 of Britain's Got Talent in spring 2011. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ant_%26_Dec&action=edit&section=5 edit Scandals In 1997, Welsh pop duo 'And all because...' successfully obtained legal aid and filed legal papers against Ant & Dec (then PJ & Duncan), along with their management team, record company and producers for copyright infringement over the song "Falling", and this was subsequently Ant & Dec's last single. Law firm Olswang were commissioned to investigate the 2005 British Comedy Awards when the producers overturned the voting public's first choice, The Catherine Tate Show in favour of Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway for the People's Choice Award. The incident is also the subject of an investigation by media regulator Ofcom.[29][30] Following allegations of fraud in 2007, an investigation by auditors Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu discovered that two shows, Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, had defrauded viewers participating in phone-ins. The programmes were subject to a further investigation by Ofcom which found that between January 2003 and October 2006 Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway had -[30][31] *selected competition finalists before the telephone lines were announced as closed *staggered the selection of competition finalists which meant that viewers entering the competition did not have a fair and equal chance of winning *selected finalists on the basis of their suitability to be on television and where they lived *selected an individual already known to the production team to be placed on the shortlist of potential winners and who went on to win the competition and between September and October 2005, Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon had - *on six occasions in the Prize Mountain competition, selected winners based on their suitability to be on screen *failed to account for almost half of the competition entries One episode of I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! was also found to be in breach of Ofcom rules. The pair were ridiculed for their alleged participation in the fraud on the front cover of the satirical magazine Private Eye.[32] On 10 September 2008, McPartlin and Donnelly announced that the frauds "will never happen again", insisting that a high-tech system and strict rules will ensure viewers cannot lose out with poorly monitored premium rate phone lines.[33] On 30 September 2008, it was reported that the pair were being sued for $30 million by Greek American stand-up comedian and actor Anthony Kalloniatis for using "his" name in the United States. The lawsuit, among other things, alleges trademark infringement and fraud.[34] In October 2009, Kelly Brook claimed that Ant and Dec had been the cause of her removal as 4th judge on Britain's Got Talent. She claimed that she was asked to leave the show after she upset the pair.[35] http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ant_%26_Dec&action=edit&section=6 edit Acting They have, albeit infrequently, returned to acting. They played themselves in the film Love Actually[36] (in which Bill Nighy's character referred to Dec as "Ant or Dec"). They have returned to their Geordie roots in a one-off tribute to The Likely Lads[37] and also by returning to Byker Grove for Geoff's funeral.[38][39] In 1998, the pair starred in the pantomime Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs at Sunderland's Empire Theatre alongside Donnelly's partner at the time Clare Buckfield. The show was financially unsuccessful, making £20,000 less than it cost to stage, with the duo footing a large share of the shortfall.[40] Al Burton, creator of the American gameshow Win Ben Stein's Money, had approached Ant & Dec's talent agency with a proposal for a new reality television show entitled Ant & Dec Get Killed (after the film Penn & Teller Get Killed), in which the two scheme to murder one another, framed with a lighthearted soundtrack and canned laughter. Burton received negative public reaction and narrowly escaped being charged with several accounts of premeditated murder in British courts, and Ant & Dec refused the offer from the talent agency.[41] Ant & Dec's most recent acting appearance was in the film Alien Autopsy released in April 2006.[42] The film gained mixed reviews about the storyline but the pair received generally good reviews for their acting abilities. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ant_%26_Dec&action=edit&section=7 edit Awards In 2005, as part of the ITV Network's 50th birthday celebrations, they were back on television fronting Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon, a celebration of some of ITV's most enduring gameshows from the past 50 years. In 2006, a celebration to the show Spitting Image saw Ant and Dec having their own puppets made. They have also been made into cartoon characters on the comedy show 2DTV, and face masks in Avid Merrion's Bo Selecta. Wax works of the duo can also be seen in London's Madame Tussauds. In September 2006, they were voted by the general public as number 7 in a poll of TV's 50 Greatest Stars.[43] 1994 *Brit Award Nomination - Best Song: "Let's Get Ready to Rhumble"[44] 2001 *Most Popular Entertainment Presenter (SMTV Live) 2002 *Most Popular Entertainment Presenter (Pop Idol) *National Television Awards: Special Recognition Award 2003 *Most Popular Entertainment presenter (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway)[45] *Most Popular Entertainment program (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway) *Most Popular Reality Programme (I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!) 2004 *Most Popular Entertainment presenter (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway) *Most Popular Entertainment programme (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway) 2005 *Most Popular Entertainment presenter (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway) 2006 *Most Popular Quiz Programme (Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon)[46] *Most Popular Entertainment presenter (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway) *British Comedy Awards: Best Comedy Entertainment Personality[47] *British Comedy Awards: Best Comedy Entertainment Programme[48] 2007 *Most Popular Entertainment presenter (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway) *Most Popular Entertainment program (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway) *Most Popular Reality Programme (I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!) 2008 *TV Quick & TV Choice Awards: Best Entertainment Show (Saturday Night Takeaway)[49] *Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards 2008: Favourite Funny Person, Best TV presenters and Best Family TV show (Britain's Got Talent)[50] *National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment Presenter[51] 2009 *TV Quick & TV Choice Awards: Best Entertainment Show (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway) *TV Quick & TV Choice Awards:Outstanding Contribution Award[52] *National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment Presenter 2010 *National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment Presenter *National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment Programme (Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway) *British Academy Television Awards: Entertainment Performance (I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!) 2011 *National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment Presenter *National Television Awards: Most Popular Entertainment Programme (I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!